The Return
by Anunaki
Summary: Sequel to my story "August and Everything After." The aliens went to their home planet to fulfill their destiny, now they are coming back to earth to pick up the pieces.
1. Chapter 1

**"The Return"** **Part 1**  
by Anunaki

**Disclaimer: **I did not create or own any part of Roswell.  
**Summary: **Sequel to August and Everything After. Five years later the aliens return to pick up the pieces.  
**Category: **Max/Liz  
**Rating: **PG  
**Authors Note: **This was written after the airing of season 1 but before season 2 started so nothing discovered after season 1 will be part of it. I would welcome critique or commentary.

Max looked up at the darkening purple sky. The stars twinkled brightly, giving him the same feeling of unease they always did. He'd never been much of an astronomer, but he could tell these stars were in different places than the stars he'd grown up with. Every time he looked up at them he felt like he was in some Twilight Zone episode, the main character stumbling around while the clues are all around him that something is not quite how it should be.

He heard footsteps on the balcony behind him. He knew who it was without even looking. Only one person seemed to be determined not to let Max be alone for too long, determined not to let him think too much in case he might come to the decision he was coming to now. Michael stood next to him as they watched the strange glow come up from the city spread out in front of them. As he took in the view he said the words he knew Michael was dreading to hear.

"I think it's time to go home."

Max could sense his best friend's dismay. "I thought that this was supposed to be home."

"Maybe it's supposed to be. But it's not, is it? Even after being here for five years, earth is still home."

"And what about being a leader to your people?"

"My people? Come on, Michael." Max waved his hand in a gesture to indicate the city below. "These people aren't like you and me. We helped save their world, they would let us stay here for the rest of our lives, living like royalty. But when's the last time you walked through the streets down there? We don't look like them, we don't think like them. They are grateful to us, but we're not the same as them. We're clones. You know as well as I do what that means. I may carry some part of their murdered king in me, but it's not who I am. I'm human. I'm Max Evans, I grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, planet Earth. The war is over, I've done what I was destined to do. Now it's time to go home."

* * *

Michael stood in the doorway, watching Max and Isabel get the small belongings they had ready for the trip. The ship in the launch module behind them hummed faintly and periodically sent out a pulse that made the room vibrate. It surprised him to see them dressed in the clothes they were wearing when they had come here. He walked over to Isabel.

"Nice outfit."

Isabel glanced down at the jeans and tee-shirt she was wearing. "I know, it looks so weird to see these clothes again after so long. This was a pretty classic look when we left, but who knows how things have changed after five years. At the least I will probably be hopelessly out of fashion. It's not like those things matter, we're not in high school anymore." Isabel got the same wistful look she always got when talking about their childhood, then waved her hand as if to shoo it away. "Anyway, I can't show up in clothes made out of fiber that doesn't even exist on earth."

Michael gently stroked her face. "It has been a long time. Who knows what's happened since we've been gone. There might even still be enemies there that don't know the war is over. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Isabel took his hand and held it in her own. "I have to do this. I was finally able to tell my parents who I was when we left. I have to go back and explain to them why we had to leave."

"They were still in shock when we left. How do you know they'll even talk to you?"

Isabel sadly shook her head. "I don't. But they are still my family. I miss them. I have to try."

Max walked over and put his arm around Isabel as she wiped away the tears in her eyes. He stared at Michael meaningfully. "Not everyone is so scared of facing the people we left behind."

Michael glared at Max. "I don't have anybody left behind."

"Yes, you do. You're just too worried about what may have happened while you've been away."

"No. Unlike you, Maxwell, when I say good-bye I mean it."

Isabel quickly stepped between the two men and hugged Michael tightly. "Then don't say good-bye now. If you don't change your mind and come to us, I'm coming back to check up on you." She kissed him lightly. "Take care of yourself."

Max followed Isabel to the entry of the ship, then turned back to Michael. "I know this place isn't what you hoped it would be. We may have thought we were aliens growing up, but now we know we weren't. Eventually you'll stop being stubborn and accept that earth is the only place for us to be."

* * *

Liz hurried across the quad. As usual she had gotten so caught up in her protein crystallizations that she had lost all track of time. Once again she would have to put up with Dr. Lindley's snide remarks about her tardiness. For a minute her concentration on her inevitable chastisement was broken as she noticed the dark-haired man studying the campus map.

"Damn," she thought, "five years and I'm still staring at every tall, dark stranger I see. Someday I'm going to be able to forget the past and get on with my life." However, as she continued down the walkway and more of his face came into view, she suddenly realized that this time it was not her imagination playing tricks on her.

Max turned at the odd flapping sound as the thick books fell open on the concrete. He quickly grabbed the pieces of paper blowing away from them before turning his attention to their owner. "Sorry, I..."

"Oh my god. Max?" The brown eyes he had missed for so long were opened wide in amazement. He had been afraid that he would forget what she looked like. Her hair was cut different, it fell in loose waves that just brushed her shoulders. Her face looked a little older, more mature, but he was glad to find that his memory had not betrayed him.

"Hi Liz."

"Max, How...I mean, what..." Her voice trailed off as she stood looking at him, oblivious to the books she had dropped and he was now holding. He lifted them up toward her.

"Looks like some pretty heavy reading." His attempt to lighten the situation snapped her mind back into motion.

"I can't believe you're here. I need to sit down." Liz started to walk over to some benches under the trees then stopped and turned toward Max again. "No, I have to get to class. I'm already running late."

"I'm sorry, Liz. I didn't think that I would just run into you like this. I really planned to do this some better way. But since we're here, couldn't we talk for a while? I mean, couldn't you skip class?"

"No, I can't do that. I'm the teacher. It's my job and I'm already in trouble as it is. And honestly I'm not sure I can deal with this right now." She looked at Max apologetically and began to walk away. Max ran up behind and began walking next to her.

"Liz, wait. I would really like it if we could talk. Maybe we could meet somewhere later?"

Liz hesitated for a minute, then nodded her head. "See that big concrete building over there? That's the biology building, where I have my class. Across the street is a little diner, 'Frankie's'. The students meet there to study. I usually get out about five, but it's a lab and sometimes runs late, so I might be awhile."

Max smiled. "I've been waiting a long time to see you, I guess I can wait a little more."


	2. Chapter 2

Liz was glad that the lab today had been rather complicated. Organizing the equipment and answering all the students questions had kept her mind occupied so that she didn't have time to think too much about Max's reappearance. But it also made the afternoon go quick and before she knew it the last of her students were walking out the door. She looked at the clock. It was already 5:15.

She hurried over to the diner. She waded through the dinnertime crowd of college students, searching the tables for Max. She was beginning to think that she was probably too late and Max had returned to whatever ends of the universe he had come from when she spotted him sitting in booth in a less occupied area of the restaurant. She suddenly felt nervous and nauseous. She almost turned around and ran out of the diner, but just then Max looked up and waved her over.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here. I was afraid that you might not show up." Liz just smiled at him weakly as she slipped into the seat across from him. "I already ordered. Just some burgers and fries. I hope you don't mind, I was pretty hungry. If you want something else I can go get the waitress."

"No, that's okay, I'm not really hungry."

Max looked thoughtfully at his half eaten burger. "It's been so long since I've had normal human food, I'd almost forgotten how good it is. The last time I had a burger was at the Crashdown." He looked into Liz's eyes. "I remember because that's also the last time I saw you. All the time I've been gone I would replay that day over and over in my mind, trying to remember every detail, to remind myself that someday I would come back and find you again."

Her eyes searched his, questioning. "But where have you been? Why are you here now? What about the war and your destiny?"

"The war is over. All the questions I had about myself have been answered and my destiny now is what ever I want it to be."

Their conversation was interrupted when a man appeared out of the crowd behind Liz, put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her neck.

"Hey, babe. I didn't expect to see you here, I thought you'd be home by now." He stopped and looked at Max. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting a tutoring session?"

"No. We were just talking. This is Max Evans, an old friend. Max, this is Scott, my boyfriend."

"Geez, Liz. I hate it when you say that, it makes me feel about fifteen years old." He leaned over and stretched his hand out towards Max. Max was confused for a minute until he remembered that the human custom was to shake hands when meeting somebody. "Max Evans, huh? Liz has mentioned you before. The old flame. Should I be worried?"

Max looked Scott square in the eye. "I would be if I were you."

Max was very pleased as Scott's teasing smile faltered. Liz looked mortified, then forced a smile and reassuringly stroked Scott's arm. "I guess I forgot to mention Max's rather weird sense of humor. He's just kidding, honey. Right, Max?"

Max could see the pleading look on Liz's face. "Yeah, just a joke."

Scott looked at him like he was not at all sure. "Okay. I would really love to stick around, but I've got to go meet my advisor. Liz, don't forget that we're supposed to meet Jim and Rachel at seven for the movie." He looked at Liz for confirmation that she hadn't had a sudden change of plans. She gave him a quick kiss.

"I remember."

"So, I'll see you at home in a little while." Scott glanced again at Max, the distrust still showing in his eyes. "Max, it was interesting meeting you."

Liz watched as Scott fought his way out through the crowd, then turned and shot a hard look at Max. "How could you do that?" Liz stood up, gathering her things. "Why did you have to come back here? My life is going so good right now. If you came here to screw things up, you can just go back to where ever you came from."

Max jumped up, grabbed Liz by the arms and pulled her so that her face was inches away from his. She turned her head so that she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. He could smell the warm, clean fragrance of her hair and he realized that his memory had failed him. He had forgotten how it really felt to be near her. How soft her skin was, how the pale curve of her throat was accented by her thick, dark hair. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin as he spoke quietly. "I have spent five years fighting for my life and for the destiny that was planned for me. That battle is over, I'm fighting for myself and for what I want now. I told you once that I would come for you. Now I have."

There was sadness and anger in Liz's dark eyes. "It's been a long time, Max. A lot has changed since you've been gone. I've changed, I'm not the same person you once knew."

Max loosed his grip. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you. I would really like the chance to get to know you again. Will you let me?"

Liz pulled away from him and stood motionless. He could sense the struggle going on within her. He barely moved, afraid that anything he did might banish him from her life forever.

Liz had thought she would never see Max again. She was unprepared for the feelings seeing him again had awakened in her. She kept telling herself that the best thing to do was to walk out of here and go back to the life that had seemed so simple and perfect this morning. But she knew she couldn't. Max was back, and no matter what might happen or who it might hurt she knew that she couldn't just walk away from him. She took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "This is my class syllabus, the number on top is the phone in my office. You can call me there." She looked uncertainly at Max a moment more, then turned and walked out of the restaurant before she could change her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Isabel stood on the front porch of the place that had been her home. Once, she would have walked in the door without a second thought. Now she stood there trying to get the nerve up to ring the doorbell.

"Any time now, Isabel. Just walk up there and do it."

Like so many times in the last ten minutes she walked up and moved her hand towards the bell. She was almost convinced that this time she was going to do it, when she heard the sound of the locks being undone. Isabel wanted to run, but she was like a deer caught in headlights, unable to turn away as possible disaster sped towards her.

The door swung open and Isabel was face to face with her mother. At first Diane was startled by finding someone on her porch. Then, as she looked at the tall blonde woman in front of her, recognition crept into her eyes.

"Isabel?" Diane whispered.

Isabel stood motionless in apprehension of what might happen next. Then her mother was holding her, gently rocking back and forth. "Oh, Izzy. You've come back to me."

The tears started to fall as she relaxed into her mother's embrace. "Mom, I've missed you so much."

Diane smiled through her tears. She never thought anyone would call her that again. She smoothed Isabel's hair. "Me, too, honey." They just stood holding each other for a moment, then Diane started laughing. "What are we doing, standing out here? Come inside. Let's sit down so we can talk."

Isabel followed her mother inside. The house was much like she remembered it. Still, her eyes were drawn from one object to another as each little thing brought back memories of a time that seemed so long ago.

Diane couldn't take her eyes off her daughter, afraid if she blinked Isabel might be gone. "Can I get you something to drink? Water? Soda?"

Isabel smiled, happy to have her mother fussing over her again. "No, I'm okay." The two women stood in the middle of the living room, neither knowing how to begin telling each other all that had happened since the last time they had seen each other. Isabel didn't know how much of her experiences her mother would be able handle right away. Plus, she felt that Diane was uneasy about something.

"Where's Dad? Away on a business trip or something?"

"Why don't you sit down?" Isabel didn't like the look on her mother's face. She nervously settled on the couch. Diane sat next to her and took Isabel's hand in her own. "Isabel, I don't know any easy way to tell you this." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Your father died of a heart attack. Last year. June eighteenth."

Isabel couldn't believe it. She had imagined what coming back would be like a thousand times. She had prepared herself for having to search for her parents or face their rejection. She had never imagined this. "Daddy, dead? How did it happen?"

"He was in Boston. I had tried to persuade him not to go, he had been feeling so tired. But he was convinced that he had just been working too hard lately. He thought the trip would give him an excuse to relax. Plus, he was giving a presentation to the heads of the Department of Justice, it was such an honor, he felt he just had to go. Remember Carl Simons? He went too. He said Philip wasn't feeling well just before the presentation, but he thought it was just nervousness. Then Philip just collapsed. By the time they got him to the hospital it was too late."

Isabel's face was pale. "We should have been here. We could have saved him." Isabel looked at her mother and knew that she understood.

"You mean Max...?"

Isabel nodded silently. Diane was lost in thought for a moment, then pulled her daughter to her. "Oh, honey. I spent a lot of time blaming myself, too. I kept thinking, I knew he was tired, I should have made him stay home. But he wanted to go. I couldn't have known what would happen. Even if you'd been here, you wouldn't have been with him in Boston. There's nothing you could have done. It was just his time."

The faint glow of the first light of dawn began to separate the expanse of west Texas plains from the field of stars above it. Nighthawks and bats swooped and careened around the streetlamps like barflies enjoying one last dance before the cool mystery of the night gets chased away by daylight. Isabel sat entranced, listening to the sounds of Roswell waking up around her.

Too much had happened that night for Isabel to think about sleeping. She and Diane had talked for hours. Isabel's heart had ached hearing about her father's death, but the pain worsened after learning of Philip's reaction to his children's secret. Unlike Diane, he had never had any clue that his children might be a little different. To learn that there was indeed intelligent life on other planets, and he had been harboring a manifestation of it in his home for ten years was hard to adjust to. He became withdrawn, suspicious of people, even those he had known his whole life.

Against Diane's objections, he had boxed up all the pictures of Max and Isabel and refused to mention their names. Before Max and Isabel had left, Philip had become suspicious of their behavior. He believed that the problem was drugs, and had asked around about intervention methods and treatment centers. So when they had disappeared, the story grew in Roswell that Philip fought with them about their drug use and they had run away. Philip was glad to have an excuse not to talk about his children's mysterious absence.

Eventually, Philip had returned to work. Philip and Diane's life settled into a pattern of routine and denial. It hurt Diane to not be able to talk to anyone about how much she missed the children she had raised, but she couldn't really go to a counselor and tell him her children had returned to their home planet. So she resigned herself to suffering alone, hoping Philip would eventually come to terms with what had happened. She had eventually given up hope of even that.

Then one day, Diane was drinking her morning coffee and reading the paper. Philip was wandering around the house, fiddling with one thing after another. Finally he came in and sat by her and stared out the window. He asked her if she had ever noticed anything unusual about Max and Isabel. Diane told Philip about the unusual gifts she had seen Max use and about the time he had saved her from the grease fire. It had been cathartic for Diane, for the first time some of her burden was eased. She hoped it would be a turning point and she and Philip would finally begin to open up about what happened. Although he never mentioned Max and Isabel again, Diane tried to convince Isabel that her father would eventually have accepted her back.

For her part, Isabel was finally able to share with her mother all the things that had happened leading up to their leaving. Diane sat astounded listening to all the dangers her children had faced alone. Several times Isabel could see the worry and hurt in Diane's eyes as she described a particular situation and thought that she should leave some parts out to protect her mother. But she wanted her mother to know everything. She had always had to hold something back when talking to her mother and it had always kept a distance between them. With each shared tear Isabel could feel the distance melting away.

Around midnight Diane had retrieved the family pictures from the attic, and they had spent the rest of the night reliving old memories until Diane, mentally and emotionally exhausted, had headed to bed. Isabel watched the crisp morning sunlight spread across the town she had grown up in and finally felt like she had found home.


End file.
